15 months to pay

I thought the $4,621 + $28.80 were my final bills from Kaiser Permanente hospital. Hindi pala.

I went back last Monday morning to pay for my account and also to  request for a medical certification I need to submit to Philippine Airlines. Aside from the no show and re-booking fees for my SFO-Manila ticket dated September 28, I still have a round trip ticket issued for October 18 and a November 16 return that I would not be able to use.

I am hoping that they would agree to extend the expiry of the tickets till middle of next year so I could use them.  Sayang naman, ang mahal pa mandin.

PAL has so many restrictions. I am hoping that my medical records would prove to them that I had an emergency, hence, the change of flight schedules.

The medical secretary who attended to my request is a Filipina named Liza.   She’s married to an African-American who speak better Tagalog than she does.  He also cooks Pilipino dishes.  The guy served in the military and for a little over a year,  he was stationed in the Philippines.

Liza said the letter would be ready for pick-up in a week or two.

This guy doesn’t speak a word in English.   He also owes the hospital some money.

Kaiser is very organized and systematic. I went to the Member Services, in two minutes, she led me to the Medical Secretaries’ room.

Financial services fliers in Tagalog

While waiting for me, Bong ahd a free flue shot at the lobby.

While waiting at the cashier’s office, oh there’s that Mexican guy again. They found an interpreter and she asked him “do you have brothers, sisters, or friend who could pay…?
I understood him a little bit. He said “no trabajar, no capacidad”.
There’s another Mexican guy, but a lot younger, maybe in his early twenties with a $100 bill. He told the cashier he will come back. He will try to figure it out.
Pag ako tumama sa lotto in million dollars, I will stand at their door and help penniless individuals.

While I am not yet winning in the lotto, I have my own obligation to deal with.

I thought I owed them $28.80 for the other ultrasound. When I was paying it, the cashier couldn’t find that amount. Yun pala, there’s another bill in the amount of $4,300+ for other medical services which were not yet included in the previous bills. The good thing is, they gave me another discount. They slashed the $4,300 and gave me a discount. Instead of $28.80, I still owned them another $800+.
The bill hasn’t been sent to me yet but the cashier suggested that I pay it na rin. I used my Mastercard.
The cashier probably found the $4,621 bill  staggering. She told me they could give me 15 months to pay at zero interest. Really? I was happy with the discounts they’ve given me , and now, they’ve even offered to give me fifteen gives?
She said they’ll send me a monthly bill of $309.00. She just emphasized that I should mail the payment in advance, at least 10 days before the due date, and not to miss any payment or else the whole amount would be due and payable.

I am grateful, at the same time, the mere thought that I would be paying $309 a month for the next 15 months makes me inip already.
Nadagdagan ang utang ko.

Today, I received two envelopes from Kaiser. I was afraid to open them, they could be additional bills . Ayoko ng madagdagan ang utang ko, hanggang bewang na.

Hwooo. Survey lang pala

and the payment plan confirmation.

#bigrelief